Hypnosis

Hypnosis
Jean-Martin Charcot demonstrating hypnosis on a "hysterical" Salpêtrière patient, "Blanche" (Marie Wittman), who is supported by Joseph Babiński[1]
MeSH	D006990
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Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI),^[2] reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.^[3]

There are competing theories explaining hypnosis and related phenomena. Altered state theories see hypnosis as an altered state of mind or trance, marked by a level of awareness different from the ordinary state of consciousness.^[4][5] In contrast, non-state theories see hypnosis as, variously, a type of placebo effect,^[6][7] a redefinition of an interaction with a therapist^[8] or a form of imaginative role enactment.^[9][10][11]

During hypnosis, a person is said to have heightened focus and concentration^[12] and an increased response to suggestions.^[13] Hypnosis usually begins with a hypnotic induction involving a series of preliminary instructions and suggestions. The use of hypnosis for therapeutic purposes is referred to as "hypnotherapy", while its use as a form of entertainment for an audience is known as "stage hypnosis", a form of mentalism.

Hypnosis-based therapies for the management of irritable bowel syndrome and menopause are supported by evidence.^{[14][15][16][17]} Use of hypnosis for treatment of other problems has produced mixed results, such as with smoking cessation.^[18][19][20] The use of hypnosis as a form of therapy to retrieve and integrate early trauma is controversial within the scientific mainstream. Research indicates that hypnotising an individual may aid the formation of false memories,^[21][22] and that hypnosis "does not help people recall events more accurately".^[23] Medical hypnosis is often considered pseudoscience or quackery.^[24]